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The TED Blog shares interesting news about TED, TED Talks video, the TED Prize and more.Mon, 03 Aug 2015 00:28:21 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/909a50edb567d0e7b04dd0bcb5f58306?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png » Playlisthttp://blog.ted.com
Why the eff didn’t you watch these TED Talks? The 2013 editionhttp://blog.ted.com/why-the-eff-didnt-you-watch-these-ted-talks-the-2013-edition/
http://blog.ted.com/why-the-eff-didnt-you-watch-these-ted-talks-the-2013-edition/#commentsFri, 27 Dec 2013 16:00:34 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=85122[…]]]>Perhaps you are looking forward to a new and hopeful 2014; perhaps you see late December as the perfect time for reflection and resolution. I’m pleased to let you off the hook. This is the time when you should look back at your year and focus on the question: What TED Talks did I miss? Lucky for you, the 2013 edition of “Why the eff didn’t you watch these TED Talks?” — which, amazingly, you seemed to like last year — is here. New and hopeful is fine and good, but I’m more in favor of not forgetting the old, the weird, the mystifying, the liminal and the hidden. And so I give you: My favorite 11 under-loved TED Talks of 2013. Be ready to be mildly chastised for missing out on them the first time around.

Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we share
If you haven’t seen this talk yet, you’re excused, as it was just published last week. But if you don’t watch it in the next 30 seconds, you have some thinking to do, young man/lady. Writer Andrew Solomon, who also gave the beautiful talk “Love, no matter what,” exposes the deep, dark recesses of his mind from the years of his depression. His voice wraps you in a dark, heavy verbal blanket flecked with gold. His quotes and stories and jokes weave together effortlessly, in such a way that even the most cynical of viewers will find themselves giving Solomon a standing ovation in front of their laptop. It’s hard to believe that he actually talks like that in real life, but we’re told he does.Solomon somehow makes thirty minutes on depression the best part of your day. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk (yet)?

Parul Sehgal: An ode to envy
The wonderful and eloquent Parul Sehgal had me at “Proust and sexual jealousy.” Literary critic Sehgal argues that the best lab for jealousy is the novel, evoking our favorite neurotic boy, Marcel, and his masochistic hero-in-love, Swann. Sehgal’s self-deprecating wit makes the topic of jealousy surprisingly delightful. As she says, wanting to possess someone is not so unlike a quest for knowledge, and jealousy is not so unlike telling a story. “Jealousy,” she says, “makes us all amateur novelists.”Parul Sehgal admits that at age 8 she changed her classmate’s grade in her teacher’s grade book. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

Ken Jennings: Watson, Jeopardy and me, the obsolete know-it-all
This talk requires a little bit of American pop culture trivia, but its message is universal: Even if you are the world champion of factoid collection, you will still someday be beaten by a supercomputer. Ken Jennings, who holds the record for the longest streak on the American game show Jeopardy!, gives a hilarious talk on what it was like to lose to IBM supercomputer Watson in 2011. This talk somehow turned me into a follower of the Cult of Ken, about nine years too late and despite not having watched Jeopardy! growing up.This talk made me get a Twitter account just to follow Ken Jennings. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch it?

Charmian Gooch: Meet global corruption’s hidden players
Global Witness co-founder Charmian Gooch is kicking ass and taking names. She begins her talk on global corruption by drawing you in with portraits of the outrageously wealthy, decadent and gluttonous. Gooch drops fact after appalling fact about how “far-away” countries are being robbed by the powerful and corrupt and how the international banking system enables them — and makes us all complicit. You’ll hang on her every word, for fear that she’ll implicate someone you know and you’ll miss it.Charmian Gooch is a badass who doesn’t tolerate corruption at any level, no matter who is involved. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

Stuart Firestein: The pursuit of ignorance
I know that I know nothing. I also know that I like to collect wise white-haired grandfather figures, and Stuart Firestein is an excellent addition. His talk on how science is basically just farting around in the dark is funny and philosophical and calls for “high-quality ignorance.” A great talk on how science is less an acquisition of a finite number of known facts and more a journey of questions, ignorance and unknowing.This talk is about “high-quality ignorance.” So: Why the eff didn’t you watch it?

Iwan Baan: Ingenious homes in unexpected places
I first heard about the Zabbaleen — the trash-collecting Coptic community in Cairo that recycles 80 percent of what they find by allowing their pigs to forage through collected heaps — in 2009, during the swine flu scare, from a good friend studying in Cairo. She told me that the city had ordered that these pigs to be killed, meaning that the city would lose its extremely efficient recycling system, one of the best in the world. Now, I get to see the literally trashy world of the Zabbaleen through the eyes of Dutch photographer Iwan Baan. In a fascinating talk, he shows how disadvantaged communities — like that of the Zabbaleen — can become places of remarkable innovation and expressions of personal aesthetic. I also learned an important lesson from Baan: Every community needs a barber, be it a 45-story abandoned tower in Caracas Venezuela, or a floating village in Nigeria.This talk has people living underground and cows living inside apartments. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch it?

John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!
Linguist John McWhorter argues that texting is not a scourge, but a “linguistic miracle.” Breaking down the grammar of a typical text message, McWhorter argues that it’s more accurate to think of texting as “fingered speech,” more like a spoken language than a written one. He points out that across cultures, people are able to speak slangy, grammatically loose spoken sentences while still maintaining the ability to write in grammatically and syntactically accurate language. So, no worries, our kids aren’t going to live in a linguistic circus in 20 years.John McWhorter makes linguistics fun and texting un-horrible. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

Janette Sadik-Khan: New York’s streets? Not so mean any more
In an ode to my great city of New York, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan shows off three major projects the city created to cut down on congestion, decrease traffic injuries, and boost retail. The talk was given in September, four months after New York’s first bike-sharing program launched, and it was a great first look into the success of the program. I’ve always thought New York was a bit backward compared to cities like Paris and Amsterdam, which are incredibly bike-friendly. But the success of Citi Bike and the rest of Sadik-Khan’s programs in transforming the city’s streets is a testament to the true adaptability of New Yorkers – and the fact that, in this city, the tide of change always wins out over the nostalgic curmudgeons.Janette Sadik-Khan transformed Times Square by shutting down car traffic for five blocks and putting out lawn chairs. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

Jeff Speck: The walkable city
My biggest gripe about growing up in the suburbs was that until I was 17 it was impossible to go anywhere without a licensed driver. My town was so intent on teenage oppression that it never occurred to the government that sidewalks might be desirable. My hometown could learn a thing or two from city planner Jeff Speck, who has an earth-shattering idea that is going to save everyone: walking. He gives an anti-urban-sprawl talk that argues that walking will solve the economic, health and environmental problems rampant in the U.S. Sing it, brother.Walking: It’s simple, and it solves everything. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

Dambisa Moyo: Is China the new idol for emerging economies?
Economist Dambisa Moyo makes an interesting argument: In emerging markets, the American Dream has a new sparring partner: the Chinese Dream. Capitalism and democratic representation is no longer the only model for success, argues Moyo. She presents a compelling new narrative to the Rise of China: What’s really worrisome for Western democracies is that they’re losing credibility with emerging markets.Dambisa Moyo offers a new perspective to the standard narrative of the Rise of China. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

James Flynn: Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents’
There has been a massive increase in IQs in the past century. Why? Well, James Flynn — the father of the “Flynn Effect” and another great addition to my Grandfather Collection — argues that it’s not because we’re all geniuses and our ancestors were mentally deficient, but because over time we’ve become better at thinking in the abstract and imagining hypotheticals, which is what IQ tests test for. According to Flynn, our ancestors were more mentally rigid, and could only think about what was directly and tangibly in front of them. Were my ancestors unable to imagine beyond the concrete world? I’d like to think so, but I suppose the relevant question is: Were they able to imagine what life and thinking would be like for me?James Flynn has a capital E effect named after him and an excellent beard. So: Why the eff didn’t you watch this talk?

]]>http://blog.ted.com/why-the-eff-didnt-you-watch-these-ted-talks-the-2013-edition/feed/15AndrewSolomon_2013X_586x357thuhaDiana Nyad shares the epic playlist that kept her motivated on her swim from Cuba to Floridahttp://blog.ted.com/diana-nyad-epic-playlist/
http://blog.ted.com/diana-nyad-epic-playlist/#commentsMon, 23 Dec 2013 16:10:17 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=85064[…]]]>

Diana Nyad brought down the house at TEDWomen, telling the story of how she completed a record-breaking swim at age 64. Photo: Marla Aufmuth

Diana Nyad swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, a journey that took her just under 53 hours last September. In today’s talk, Nyad gives a vivid account of what it was like to be out in the water, making her fifth attempt at this swim — one she first tried in 1978 when she was 28 years old. So how did she make it through the jellyfish, the unpredictable currents and the darkness “like you’ve never seen?”

Diana Nyad: Never, ever give up
The answer, as Nyad reveals in today’s talk: a deep belief in perseverance, and some really good songs. Nyad says that singing a playlist to herself over and over again — anchored by John Lennon’s “Imagine” played more than 100 times — helped tremendously.

We asked Nyad to share the motivational playlist that propelled her through the swim and all the training it required. She obliged. As she sets it up: “Here’s a list of 120 songs … I sang in my head to ease the long hours, to connect with the infinitude of the majestic ocean. Some I know well and would sing all the way through, including humming the musical interludes. Others I would only use the chorus or maybe a first or second stanza — whatever moved me and gave me pleasure out there.”

Her playlist is divided into two parts—first, a Spotify playlist of artists ranging from Otis Redding to k.d. lang, and then a list of Beatles songs (not available on Spotify), as they are Nyad’s favorite.

]]>http://blog.ted.com/diana-nyad-epic-playlist/feed/17Diana Nyad at TEDWomenkatetedDiana Nyad brought down the house at TEDWomen, telling the story of how she completed a record-breaking swim at age 64. Photo: Marla AufmuthThe 20 most popular TED Talks, as of December 2013http://blog.ted.com/the-most-popular-20-ted-talks-2013/
http://blog.ted.com/the-most-popular-20-ted-talks-2013/#commentsMon, 16 Dec 2013 21:05:12 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=84804[…]]]>

As 2013 draws to a close, TED is deeply humbled to have posted 1600+ talks, each representing an idea worth spreading. So which ideas have had the most widespread impact? Below, a look at the 20 most-watched talks as of December 2013. These viewership numbers include all the platforms we track: TED.com, YouTube, iTunes, embed and download, Hulu and more.

Some fascinating things to notice on this list, if you’d like to compare and contrast it to the most popular talks in 2012, and to the list we shared back in 2011: Amy Cuddy, Susan Cain, David Blaine and Pamela Meyer are all newcomers to the list, with Cuddy’s talk storming to spot #5 thanks to you sharing it. Meanwhile, Brene Brown’s talk has doubled in its number of views since 2012, with Simon Sinek and Mary Roach’s talks coming close to that line. And finally, Ken Robinson’s classic talk? Well, it has been played nearly 9 million times since last year alone.

But what really makes this list so incredible is the fact that it spans so many areas of interest, from education to happiness, statistics to creativity, tech demos to illusions. We love that this list revels in the wonders of the human brain, as well as in the incredible creatures of the deep sea, and far beyond.

Sheryl Sandberg gave a classic talk at TEDWomen 2010, which became the basis for her book, Lean In.

A dream analysis app creator. A fearless swimmer. The CEO of Campbell’s Soup. A spacesuit designer. These are the kinds of speakers who will take the stage when TEDWomen 2013 kicks off at San Francisco’s SFJAZZ Center tomorrow. With three sessions centered around the theme “Invented Here,” the event will be a global look at what drives local innovation, with 220 TEDxWomen events in 58 countries tuning in for a webcast.

To get you in the spirit, watch this selection of great talks given at TEDWomen and TEDxWomen events in past years.

Jane Fonda: Life's third act
Jane Fonda: Life’s third act
The longevity revolution? Yes, says Jane Fonda. Her generation is living, on average, 30 years longer than their parents did. So how to make those extra decades vital, productive, full-of-life ones? At TEDxWomen 2011, Fonda shares what she’s learned so far.

iO Tillett Wright: Fifty shades of gay
iO Tillett Wright: Fifty shades of gay
Most people don’t consider themselves simply gay or straight. When photographer iO Tillett Wright asked people to assign a number to their sexuality, she found that most people occupied the gray area between the two poles. In this talk from TEDxWomen 2012, she shares a few of her images of 2,000 people on the LGBTQ spectrum to underline the point that having just two boxes is very limited.

Tony Porter: A call to men
Tony Porter: A call to men
Not every TEDWomen talk is given by a woman. In this bold talk from TEDWomen 2010, activist Tony Porter shares the notions of manhood that he grew up with and how these ideas — that men must be superior and unwaveringly strong — were actually deeply hurtful. In this talk, Porter urges the members of his gender to push themselves out of the “man box.”

]]>http://blog.ted.com/11-talks-from-tedwomen/feed/6Sheryl-SandbergkatetedSheryl Sandberg gave a classic talk at TEDWomen 2010, which became the basis for her book, Lean In. 16 TED Talks that are perfect for procrastinationhttp://blog.ted.com/15-ted-talks-for-procrastination/
http://blog.ted.com/15-ted-talks-for-procrastination/#commentsTue, 26 Nov 2013 23:54:35 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=84231[…]]]>The few days before a holiday are brutal. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of work on your plate or have midterms to study for — your mind just wants to be distracted from it all. And so, we bring you the best TED Talks for procrastinating, so you don’t have to feel completely guilty for not doing what you are supposed to be doing. After all, you are learning.

This post is partially inspired by this Reddit user, who asked for great talks to get him/her over the desire to procrastinate. But we say: what’s the fun in that? Though do check out the thread for ideas, as some good talks are suggested.

Peter Doolittle introduces us to working memory at TED University at TEDGlobal 2013. Photo: Bret Hartman

Experiences we have all had: walking into a room with a tremendous sense of purpose, only to realize that you have completely forgotten what the purpose was. Talking to someone in a restaurant and losing the thread of your conversation because you’re distracted by the juicier one at the table next door. Slowing down as you walk because you’re thinking about how to phrase a text message.

“Life comes at us, and it comes at us very quickly,” says Doolittle. “What we need to do is take the amorphous flow of experience and somehow extract meaning from it with a working memory that is about the size of a pea.”

Watch Doolittle’s talk for some helpful strategies for improving your working memory’s ability to hold on to information. And here, a few more TED Talks related to memory. Just make sure to actually store what’s said in them, m’kay?

Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory
Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory
What is happiness? Behavorial economist Daniel Kahneman shares how this is a complicated question, because we perceive things in two ways: as the “experiencing self” and as the “remembering self.” The experiencing self makes assessments in the moment, but the remembering self creates a coherent story in retrospect about them. Kahneman shares how powerful the remembering self is, helping us make decisions going forward and, ultimately, determining how satisfied we are with our lives.

Cesar Kuriyama: One second every day
Cesar Kuriyama: One second every day
Cesar Kuriyama has a cool idea for anyone who is concerned about remembering the little wonderful moments of their life. In this talk from TED2012, he introduces us to an app called One Second Every Day that allows you to record moments and stitch them together into a continuous video. Kuriyama plans to do this for the rest of his life, to make sure memories don’t just slip away.

]]>http://www.ted.com/playlists/196/the_complexity_of_memory/feed/13TG2013_015706__86A3340katetedPeter Doolittle introduces us to working memory at TED University at TEDGlobal 2013. Photo: Bret HartmanA playlist for International Men’s Dayhttp://blog.ted.com/a-playlist-for-international-mens-day/
http://blog.ted.com/a-playlist-for-international-mens-day/#commentsTue, 19 Nov 2013 17:26:47 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=83959[…]]]>Happy International Men’s Day, all! While at first, it might seem a little strange to have a holiday that celebrates, well, approximately half of the world’s population. But the goals of this holiday — “focus[ing] on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models” — are worthwhile, indeed, and resonate with many TED Talks. Below, your Men’s Day playlist.

Colin Stokes: How movies teach manhood
Colin Stokes: How movies teach manhood
What’s the difference between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz? In the later movie, the lead female character navigates a world by using her wits and by making good friends. In the former, however, the lead female character — well, she doesn’t do much for herself. At TEDxBeaconStreet, Colin Stokes wonders what these movies teach his two young children, and calls for films that focus less on defeating the villain and more on connecting with others.

Tony Porter: A call to men
Tony Porter: A call to men
Tony Porter grew up surrounded by the idea that men should be strong, and that they are superior to women. This is what he calls the “man box.” At TEDWomen 2010, he challenges all guys to step outside of it. Telling powerful stories from his own life, Porter reveals how difficult it is for men to hold themselves to the “man box” standards, and reveals how they can be transcended.

Sam Martin: Claim your "manspace"
Sam Martin: Claim your “manspace”
The Bat Cave, the Fortress of Solitude, Elvis’ men-only rooms at Graceland. Author Sam Martin looks at the grand tradition of men building their own spaces. These aren’t just places for beer-can pyramids, he says, but places to indulge in hobbies and passions. And they are essential for happiness, he says.

A student from the audience introduces a speaker at TEDYouth 2012, themed “Just like school … not.” Photo: Ryan Lash

What conference, besides TEDYouth, could bring together an elephant communication expert, the head of research at Pixar, a professional storm chaser, and a 16-year-old DJ? TEDYouth 2013, “The Spark,” happens tomorrow, November 16, at 11am CST in New Orleans, Louisiana. And you can watch along via the live webcast, which will be available in English, Spanish and Arabic. To get you ready for this fast-paced, mind-blowing conference, here’s a playlist of some of the best talks from TEDYouths past.

Adam Savage: How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveriesAdam Savage is the host of Mythbusters, and the king of making scientific analysis fun. In this talk from TEDYouth 2011 — which happens to be half animated — he shows how simple methodologies led to two of the most exciting scientific discoveries of all time: Eratosthenes’ calculation of the Earth’s circumference and Hippolyte Fizeau’s measurement of the speed of light.

Greg Gage: The cockroach beatboxAt TEDYouth 2011, Greg Gage dissected a cockroach on stage. In this talk, amped up with animation, we get a deeper look at how their brains work as he manipulates the electrical impulses between the leg and brain. Because roach brains are so much like ours, if we understand how they work, we can understand how we work.

Katherine Kuchenbecher: The technology of touchAt TEDYouth 2012, Katherine Kuchenbecher shares why she is working hard to make haptic feedback a part of everyday technology. What is “haptic”? Anything related to the sense of touch. Imagine being able to touch a fabric as you shop online, or your dentist being able to “feel” a cavity from a scan.

Maurice Ashley: Working backward to solve a problemMaurice Ashley is a chess grandmaster. And in this talk from TEDYouth 2012, he shares one method he uses to improve his game — using retrograde analysis to work backward from the endgame he desires. He shares why this is useful in chess … and life.

Tom Chi: Rapid prototyping Google GlassIt didn’t take years, or even months, to prototype Google Glass. It was done in a single day. In this talk from TEDYouth 2012, Tom Chi — who was on this prototyping team — shares how they did it using binder clips and clay.

Robert Full: Curiosity, discovery and gecko feetHow do geckos stick to walls and trees? It has to do with their hairy toes. At TEDYouth 2011, Robert Full tells the story of how a sophomore in college solved this mystery by creating a beautifully simple way to measure the force of a single gecko hair.

David Fasanya and Gabriel Barralag: “Beach Bodies”In another truly amazing spoken-word moment, this time from TEDYouth 2012, David Fasanya and Gabriel Barralag bring down the house. This reflection on self-image begins, “I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to get this beach body…”

Peace strategist Mohamed Ali speaks at TEDCity2.0, bringing us to the city of Mogadishu. Photo: Ryan Lash

Could unemployment be a factor that leads to terrorism?
Mohamed Ali: The link between unemployment and terrorism
In today’s talk, peace strategist Mohamed Ali (not to be confused with the boxer) introduces us to the youth of Mogadishu, Somalia — 70 percent of whom are unable to find jobs. In this talk, Ali highlights just how appealing the messages of terrorist organizations and gangs can be to these young people. These groups offer a sense of purpose to those who are waiting for their lives to start.

But Ali sees a possible antidote: encouraging entrepreneurship, so that young people are empowered to create their own opportunities. In this talk, Ali tells the story of his Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mogadishu — and the incredible people there who started a motorbike rental company, founded the first florist in Mogadishu, and more.

In this talk, Ali notes a fascinating correlation. Here, more TED Talks that point to the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship.

Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love
Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money — and love
Kiva.org offers microloans to people in the developing world to help them start or grow their businesses. In this talk, the founder of the organization shares how she flipped her thinking on charity from being something offered out of a sense of guilt to being an exciting opportunity to work with a person to improve their life, while validating their dignity. By encouraging individuals to grow their business, this type of giving can even raise up entire communities.

Anil Gupta: India's hidden hotbeds of invention
Anil Gupta: India’s hidden hotbeds of invention
The developing world is full of inventors with genius ideas for how to solve their community’s unique problems. And we can encourage them, says Anil Gupta. In this talk, Gupta introduces us to the Honey Bee Network, which helps build connections and identities for entrepreneurs in India, so that they can find resources and a market for their ideas. Why the name “Honey Bee?” Because Gupta sees his role as that of a bee, pollinating promising ideas.

George Ayittey: Africa's cheetahs versus hippos
George Ayittey: On cheetahs vs. hippos
There are, at the moment, two Africas. There is the Africa of the hippos, i.e. the current ruling elite, who are happy with the status quo and who are rattled by corruption. And then there is the Africa of the cheetahs — those moving fast to bring innovation all around the continent. These cheetahs are young entrepreneurs who aren’t willing to wait for the government to do things for them, but who do it for themselves. “Africa’s salvation rests on the backs of these cheetahs,” says Ayittey.

Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water
Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water
Young Ludwick Marishane and his friends had an idea—could you bathe without walking miles to get a jug of water? Marishane tells the story of how he researched formulations and wrote an entire business proposal on his mobile phone, and brought DryBath to the market with the needs of his community in mind. His point: those under the age of 18 can be successful entrepreneurs.

Arthur Benjamin is perhaps the world’s leading mathemagician and, in today’s talk, he aims to show the creativity, beauty and wonder that is as much a part of math as logic.
Arthur Benjamin: The magic of Fibonacci numbers
Stepping onto the TEDGlobal 2013 stage, Benjamin takes us on a spirited tour of the Fibonacci numbers, where the patterns to be found go far beyond simply adding two consecutive numbers to get the next. Math is the science of patterns, says Benjamin, and isn’t it incredible that as we note the arithmetical significance of this sequence, that we can also see it in action all around us?

“Fibonacci numbers appear in nature surprisingly often,” says Benjamin. “The number of petals on a flower is typically a Fibonacci number. Or the number of spirals on a sunflower or a pineapple.”

Benjamin’s talk reminds us of several other TED classics. Human beings have a proclivity for patterns, and this collection of talks sheds light on how, and why, we lock into patterns and use them in countless facets of life.

Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception
Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception
The brain is wired to see patterns and this is not just the case in humans. Birds in a box, with two holes to peck, will continue the pattern of action that resulted in the delivery of a food reward, even if the food is really dispensed randomly. This is just one of the ways Michael Shermer, the director of the Skeptics Society, cleverly gives us insight into our innate “patternicity.” Often, the tendency to follow patterns can lead us to offbeat, incorrect or out-of-this-world conclusions.

Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies
Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies
Our innate nature of pattern-recognizing is even evident in a baby’s ability to learn language. By “taking statistics” and finding trends in the words constantly spoken to and around them, young children identify and absorb the cultural characteristics of their native language. In this talk, Patricia Kuhl describes this fascinating — and critical — period of language acquisition.

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see
Beau Lotto: Optical Illusions show how we see
Patterns are essential in our brains’ ability to make sense of the infinite possibilities of the stimuli in our surroundings. We use guidance from neighboring clues and our own memories of past experience to fill in the blank that is the perception of the present. Beau Lotto, exposes the assumptions that the brain makes based on such patterns through the trickery of optical illusion.

Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history
Jean Baptiste: The mathematics of history
Patterns expose consistencies throughout human history that teach us about the past and allow us to anticipate the future. Did you know there is a mathematic equation that links the language of the King of England in the 9th century to Jay-Z? Jean-Baptiste Michel has found this equation and sees great potential in finding more intriguing trends in our time of digitized data.

Laurie Frick: Seeing the hidden language in art
Identifying patterns help humans to find clarity in seemingly useless information. Laurie Frick, an engineer turned artist, collects and simplifies millions of data points of human tracking into visuals that expose trends amidst seeming background noise. Beginning with measuring her own minute-to-minute sleep patterns, in this talk from TEDxAustin, she describes a form of art that celebrates the surveillance and reveals the structure that makes the human condition more accessible.

]]>http://blog.ted.com/8-ted-talks-about-patterns/feed/7Arthur-Benjamin-at-TG2013danigrodskyalt=refer to captionTED Talks to cheer you up on a bad dayhttps://www.ted.com/playlists/167/charming_talks_for_a_boost_on
https://www.ted.com/playlists/167/charming_talks_for_a_boost_on#commentsTue, 05 Nov 2013 21:00:54 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=83432[…]]]>It’s a widely documented fact: bad days are cumulative. They begin with pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, only to find that you’re out of milk. They escalate with discovering that the hot water isn’t working in the shower, and they percolate over a terrible morning commute. Add in a thunderstorm or an unexpected tiff with a co-worker and, well, it is all downhill from there. Your bad day will keep on rolling, picking up more and more material as it spins, like a tumbleweed of annoyance.

Bad days are the worst. But these TED Talks are very likely to cheer you up. Enjoy.

Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
Perhaps it’s maybe, kind of, sort of possible that something you did contributed to your bad day. Kathryn Shulz’s talk will make you feel very comfortable with the idea of being wrong, because fallibility is just part of being human. Bonus: the opening anecdote will make you laugh.

Amy Webb: How I hacked online dating
Amy Webb: How I hacked online dating
Maybe it’s that slippery thing called “love” that’s got you down. If that’s the case, this talk from Amy Webb is the answer. After a string of disastrous dating incidents, she decided to write her own algorithm for love and reverse-engineer online dating. The result: well, it’s really good. And her conclusion: the problem wasn’t that she was being too picky, it was that she wasn’t being picky enough.

Phil Hansen: Embrace the shake
Phil Hansen: Embrace the shake
When artist Phil Hansen developed a debilitating hand tremor, he thought his career was done. And then a doctor suggested: “Embrace the shake.” In this talk, he shares how a physical limitation drove him on to incredible creativity. Think: portraits in matches, painting with karate chops and tattooed bananas.

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion
Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion
Work can be draining, yes. But this talk from Rita Pierson will have you up on your feet and ready to take on any challenge. A long time educator working in some of the most challenging classrooms in the country, Pierson has found a foolproof way to get through to any student: by actually taking the time to form a relationship with them.

Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness
Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness
Psychologist Dan Gilbert has spent decades studying what makes us happy — and it isn’t what we think. This talk gives insight into why lottery winners and paraplegics report themselves as being equally happy a year after the moment that changed their life. Because of our incredible “psychological immune system,” which helps us synthesize happiness when things go wrong. It’s certainly something to tap into on a bad day.

]]>https://www.ted.com/playlists/167/charming_talks_for_a_boost_on/feed/21169305984_640kateted8 talks on beauty of the handmade (complete with Dong Woo Jang’s diagrams for how to make the perfect bow and arrow)http://blog.ted.com/8-talks-on-beauty-of-the-handmade-crafting-and-makers/
http://blog.ted.com/8-talks-on-beauty-of-the-handmade-crafting-and-makers/#commentsFri, 01 Nov 2013 15:52:27 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=83307[…]]]>

Dong Woo Jang shares why he makes handmade bows—as a way to relieve stress and connect to his heritage. Photo: James Duncan Davidson

In South Korea’s “pressure-cooker” educational environment, 15-year-old Dong Woo Jang began to feel his caveman instincts kicking in: He needed to survive. And like his ancestors, he decided to arm up –- with a bow and arrow.

Learning and perfecting a craft such as bowmaking is no easy task. Jang attests to staying up many a night to saw, trim and polish wood. He experimented and researched endlessly, and almost set his apartment complex on fire.

Below, 7 more TED speakers who speak to the joys (and tribulations) of creating something purely by hand:

Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously
The speaker: Janet EchelmanWhat she makes: Art from fishing nets and lace
Janet Echelman was walking along the beach one day when she came across voluminous piles of fishing nets. A longtime artist, she had assumed that sculptures needed to be hard and heavy — but these nets shifted her thinking. She worked with the fishers to learn how the nets were made, and later studied with Lithuanian lace makers. These artisans have had a big impact on her work.

Peter Reinhart: The art and craft of bread
The speaker: Peter ReinhartWhat he makes: Bread
Baking master Peter Reinhart charts the making of a loaf of bread, from dough to oven to plate. It’s all about mastering the details: “Personality and character’s being developed in this dough under the watchful gaze of the baker. And the baker’s choices all along the way determine the outcome of the product. A subtle change in temperature — a subtle change in time — it’s a balancing act between time, temperature and ingredients.”

Marisa Fick-Jordan: The wonder of Zulu wire art
The speaker: Marisa Fick-JordanWhat she makes: Products woven from telephone wire
In Africa, women have been weaving wire for centuries. But the modern era has streamlined the form, providing a perfect ready-made material — telephone wire. Marisa Fick Jordan shares how she worked with a village of traditional Zulu wire weavers to create modern products, marrying an artistic eye and a technical craft to create a business.

Eva Zeisel: The playful search for beauty
The speaker: Eva ZeiselWhat she makes: Ceramics
Before Eva Zeisel could become a ceramics master, she had to be an apprentice and learn all aspects of making pottery by hand, like preparing the clay taken from the Hungarian hillsides. She prefers to be called a “maker of things,” rather than a designer. She says, “The word ‘playful’ is a necessary aspect of our work because, actually, one of our problems is that we have to make, produce, lovely things throughout all of life, and this for me is now 75 years.”

Frank Gehry: My days as a young rebel
The speaker: Frank GehryWhat he makes: Furniture made of paper, buildings inspired by fish
Before he was a famous architect, Frank Gehry created paper furniture and cardboard flooring for Bloomingdales in the 1960s. In this talk, he tells the story of his evolution, and how most of the architectural work we now know him for is based on the form of the fish. “I got mad at postmodernism and said that fish were 500 million years earlier than man and, if you’re going to go back, we might as well go back to the beginning.”

Thomas Thwaites: How I built a toaster -- from scratch
The speaker: Thomas ThwaitesWhat he made: A toaster, by hand
Thomas Thwaites wanted to build an electric toaster from scratch. And in doing so, he found a daunting task awaiting him: 400 different pieces made out of over a hundred unique materials. Some skills he had to learn to make this vision a reality: mining, metallurgy and plastic-making.

Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object
The speaker: Neil MacGregorWhat he makes: Museum exhibits of hand-crafted objects
Why are the craft and construction of things important? Perhaps Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, explains it best in his talk, “2,600 years of history in one object.” He says, “The things we make have one supreme quality — they live longer than us. We perish, they survive; we have one life, they have many lives, and in each life they can mean different things. Which means that, while we all have one biography, they have many.”

Below, see Dong Woo Jang’s tips and diagrams for making the perfect bow.

“The perfect bow begins with a piece of wood. I have spent the most time working with bamboo wood.”

“I make five separate pieces of bamboo wood of different length, width and thickness, which will be fastened with nylon string. I try to avoid using glue unless it is totally necessary. “

“I string the bow with inelastic string. Then, using the arrow, draw the string gradually to ease the bow up. I increase the tension each day for weeks in order to make the wood fibers flexible. If the wood does not give in easily, I glue layers of other materials — such as bamboo, artificial sinew or nylon fiber — onto the outer part of the bow. I usually buy artificial sinew from leather shops.”

“When not in use, bow string needs to be unfastened. Otherwise the tension of the bow will decrease and the bow will remain rigid and loose flexibility.”

“For other types of hard wood — such as yew or mulberry — I take a long piece of log of about 150 cm and cut it with axe or sickle to resemble the shape of the bow.”

]]>http://blog.ted.com/8-talks-on-beauty-of-the-handmade-crafting-and-makers/feed/4Dong-Woo-Jong-at-TED-redoiamableckyDong Woo Jang shares why he makes handmade bows—as a way to relieve stress and connect himself to his heritage. Photo: James Duncan Davidson"The perfect bow begins as a piece of bamboo wood. I make five separate pieces of bamboo wood of different length, width and thickness, which will be fastened with nylon string. I try to avoid using glue unless it is totally necessary. "Bow-diagram-3Bow-diagram-2"When not in use, bow string needs to be unfastened. Otherwise the tension of the bow will decrease and the bow will remain rigid and loose flexibility.""For other types of hard wood -- such as yew or mulberry -- I take a long piece of log of about 150 cm and cut it with axe or sickle to resemble the shape of the bow."9 ways mushrooms could drastically improve the worldhttp://blog.ted.com/9-ways-mushrooms-could-drastically-improve-the-world/
http://blog.ted.com/9-ways-mushrooms-could-drastically-improve-the-world/#commentsTue, 29 Oct 2013 16:59:55 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=83158[…]]]>

Product designer Eben Bayer is just one speaker who has shared an idea for how mushrooms can save the world on the TED stage.

Mohamed Hijri: A simple solution to the coming phosphorus crisis
Perhaps this doesn’t sound world-altering. But as Hijri explains, it is. Modern agriculture uses fertilizer pumped full of phosphorus in order to grow enough food — and yet crops are only able to absorb about 15% of this phosphorus through their roots. (The rest disappears into the soil.) And yet, we are quickly running out of this nutrient — we’ll reach peak phosphorus in 2030 and, by the end of the century, it will be all gone. This depletion is happening even as the global population is rising, meaning that as phosphorus is needed more than ever to meet food demands, we simply won’t have much left.

This is why mycorrhiza are so important. If crops are grown with these teensy, tiny mushrooms, their roots are much better able to absorb phosphorus. If fact, says Hijri, we can use a quarter of the phosphorous in fertilizer, and get an even better growth result than we see today. We can greatly slow down our use of phosphorus to save for future generations. And a big bonus: runoff phosphorus won’t feed blue algae in the water supply.

Paul Stamets has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies and, in this talk from TED2008, he shares six ways that mycelium fungus — i.e. “the magicians” that form a complicated web of connections that hold soil together — could save the world.

They can clean polluted soil. In this talk, Stamets describes an experiment where he put storm-blown mycelium in burlap sacks, and placed them downstream from a factory producing E-Coli. In 48 hours, the mushrooms reduced the amount of coliform bacteria in the soil 10,000 times. He shows how similar mushroom technology could also clean oil, and restore habitats near polluting factories..

They treat smallpox. Stamets and his team have identified three different strains of Agarikon mushrooms which are highly active against poxviruses..

And they can also cure the flu. Based on the results of Agarikon mushrooms against pox, Stamets and his team tested if they would be active against flu A viruses and flu B viruses. They were found to work very well..

They can be used to kill insects. Stamets shows how a non-sporulating form of mushroom can attracts bugs like carpenter ants, and then kill them. But even better, after sporulation, these substances can repel bugs, even termites, making a home unsuitable for infestation. Extracts can even steer bug movement..

They can turn cardboard boxes into forests. Toward the end of his talk, Stamets introduces us to the “Life Box,” cardboard which is made with mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi as well as spores. Add soil, tree seeds and water … and you can grow a forest..

And finally, they could be used to make fuel. Mushrooms could even, potentially, help address the energy crisis, since mycelium can convert cellulose into fungal sugars. A fascinating idea: mycelium-based ethanol.

It’s not just biologists touting the incredible potential of mushrooms. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2011, artist Jae Rhim Lee shares her mushroom burial suit.
Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit
A TED Fellow, she created this suit not just because it looks cool, but because our bodies are storehouses of environmental toxins — especially in death, when we are covered with fillers and cosmetics and pumped full of formaldehyde. The suit could reverse that damage. Embedded with spores of her in-development “Infinity Mushrooms,” Lee hopes the suit will prove capable of gobbling up toxins in the body and speeding up decomposition. “I believe this is the beginning of true environmental responsibility,” she says.

Eben Bayer: Are mushrooms the new plastic?
“When a tree’s done using it leaves … it’s doesn’t pack them up, take them to the leaf reprocessing center and have them melted down to form new leaves. It just drops them, the shortest distance possible to the forest floor, where they’re actually upcycled into next year’s topsoil,” he says. “In nature, mushrooms are the recycling system.”

Warding off a phosphorus crisis, cleaning polluted soil, curbing smallpox and the flu, providing environmentally-friendly extermination, growing new forests, developing alternate fuel, revolutionizing the funeral industry and replacing throw-out plastics? Yep, that’s a whole lot of potential good that could grow out of mushrooms.

]]>http://blog.ted.com/9-ways-mushrooms-could-drastically-improve-the-world/feed/4Mushrooms-Eben-BayerkatetedProduct designer Eben Bayer is just one speaker whose shared an idea for how mushrooms can save the world on the TED stage.If you liked Amy Webb, you’ll love…http://blog.ted.com/if-you-liked-amy-webb-youll-love/
http://blog.ted.com/if-you-liked-amy-webb-youll-love/#commentsThu, 10 Oct 2013 21:30:17 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=82711[…]]]>

For the past week, Amy Webb has been inspiring people to calculate their own algorithm for love. Her laugh-out-loud TED Talk, about reverse engineering her online dating profile and, essentially, data-ing her way into her perfect relationship has gotten a lot of attention, including on The Frisky and Pop Sugar. As Webb’s talk continues to take off online, here is what to watch next if her talk intrigued you and left you wanting more.

Helen Fisher: The brain in love
Helen Fisher: The brain on love
Love: it makes the world go ‘round, and has been found in 170 societies. But why? In this talk, Helen Fisher shares how she and her team put new couples, longterm couples and those who’ve just been dumped in MRIs, and what they’ve learned about our need for love based on this brain activity.

Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world
Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world
Algorithms are, basically, the mathematic programs computers use to make decisions. They guide our Netflix recommendations, book prices, the stock market, architecture optimization, and so much more. And yet, algorithms interfere and lock into each other in loops, creating bizarre behaviors. Slavin asks: Could entrenching these systems in our lives, even in the earth, have implications we don’t yet realize?

Gary Slutkin speaks at TEDMED about his unusual approach to the epidemic of violence.

As a physician and epidemiologist, Gary Slutkin didn’t think he had much to contribute to the conversation about gun violence in America.
Gary Slutkin: Let's treat violence like a contagious disease
But then he began to realize something — that outbreaks of violence follow the same patterns as outbreaks of tuberculosis, cholera and AIDS, all of which he’d worked on reversing during a decade in Somalia, Uganda and other parts of Africa. What predicts violence? Slutkin realized that it is in fact like a contagious disease because the biggest indicator is a preceding incidence of violence.

Laurie Garrett: Lessons from the 1918 flu
Laurie Garrett: Lessons from the 1918 flu
In 2007, amid intense fear over the spread of avian flu, people started stockpiling masks and Tamiflu. In this talk, given at TED that year, disease prevention expert Laurie Garrett explains why this is not the best approach and why it’s about having prepared communities, rather than prepared individuals. How does she know this? For that, she looks to the flu epidemic of 1918.

Gregory Petsko: The coming neurological epidemic
Gregory Petsko: The coming neurological epidemic
Some epidemics start rapidly; others take decades. As Gregory Petsko explains at TED2008, this will be the case for Alzheimer’s disease as the population over the age of 80 balloons. This means that it’s time to do more research, now. A bold call for the government to start funding research into connections — like the fact that those with neurological disorders have very low incidence of cancer.

This post originally ran in September of 2013. It was updated on October 10, 2013, with a new and relevant talk.

]]>http://blog.ted.com/ted-talks-with-novel-ways-of-thinking-about-epidemics/feed/4Gary-Slutkin-and-TEDMEDkatetedGary Slutkin speaks at TEDMED about his unusual approach to the epidemic of violence.New playlist: TED under 20http://blog.ted.com/new-playlist-ted-under-20/
http://blog.ted.com/new-playlist-ted-under-20/#commentsSun, 08 Sep 2013 15:00:58 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=81355[…]]]>They might not be old enough to rent a car solo or to order a glass of wine, but they certainly have what it takes to deliver a fascinating talk on a bold idea. In this playlist, we highlight incredible TED speakers under the age of 20.

From Taylor Wilson, 17, and his nuclear fusion reactor to Richard Turere, 13, and his invention to ward off lions to Tavi Gevinson, 17, and her media empire — we dare you to watch these talks and then complain about “kids today.”

Ron Finley is just one TED speaker with an idea for improving the health of his city. Photo: James Duncan Davidson

Cities, traditionally, have not been the healthiest of places. The spread of diseases, sanitation issues, pollution — these things accelerate with large masses of people living in close quarters. But is that the way it needs to be? Could the cities of the future also be places where all people get top-notch healthcare, and where people collectively help each other live healthfully?

At TEDCity2.0, a one-day conference being held in New York City on September 20, two dozen plus speakers will take the stage to share bold ideas on the future of cities. They will speak on topics ranging from health to housing, art to education, safety to transportation, with the talks focused around the theme“Dream me. Build me. Make me real.”

To get you excited for TEDCity2.0, and the TEDxCity2.0 events that will surround it, watch these great talks on improving health in urban areas.

Rebecca Onie: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?
Rebecca Onie: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?
A child with an ear infection may get a prescription for antibiotics, but the real problem is usually an overcrowded apartment and a lack of food at home. This was a hard lesson that Rebecca Onie learned while working at the pediatrics unit of Boston Medical Center. At TEDMED 2012, she shares how this experience inspired her to start Health Leads, a program that can prescribe heat in winter or extermination for infestations, and connect patients with the resources they need to improve issues underlying health.

Ernest Madu: World-class health care
Ernest Madu: World-class health care
In Kingston, Jamaica, Ernest Madu founded the Heart Institute of the Caribbean. It’s an institution that, thanks to tech-savvy solutions and good design, provides incredible cardiovascular healthcare in the developing world, where heart health is generally left up to fate. At TEDGlobal 2007, Madu describes how cities can improve their population’s well-being in a ripple effect by providing healthcare.

Vikram Patel: Mental health for all by involving all
Vikram Patel: Mental health for all by involving all
450 million people across the globe suffer from mental illness — it’s a health issue at play in every major city. In wealthy nations, about half of people who need it receive care for mental illness — but in the developing world, about 90 percent of cases go untreated because of a startling lack of psychiatrists. At TEDGlobal 2012, Vikram Patel shares a radical idea to get help for those who need it — train whoever is available in local communities to provide mental health interventions.

]]>http://blog.ted.com/8-talks-with-ideas-for-healthier-cities/feed/3Ron-Finley-at-TED2013katetedRon Finley is just one TED speaker with an idea for improving the health of his city. Photo: James Duncan DavidsonRock, paper, scissors! These 5 TED Talks play with paper in fresh wayshttp://blog.ted.com/rock-paper-scissors-these-5-ted-talks-play-with-paper-in-fresh-ways/
http://blog.ted.com/rock-paper-scissors-these-5-ted-talks-play-with-paper-in-fresh-ways/#commentsTue, 13 Aug 2013 18:26:14 +0000http://blog.ted.com/?p=80947[…]]]>

Beatrice Coron shows off an incredible cape, made out of cut paper, at TED2011. Photo: James Duncan Davidson

Ban may be one of the few major architects in the world making buildings out of paper, but when it comes to transforming paper into something new and revolutionary, he is in good company. Below, talks from TED speakers using paper innovation for art, technology and social change.

Callie Curry aka Swoon at TEDxBrooklyn
Callie Curry started wheatpasting as a way to take her art out of the classroom and engage with her world. But what began as outdoor art expanded to seagoing rafts, and eventually to homes in post-earthquake Haiti made out of scavenged material. In her TEDxBrooklyn talk, Curry describes the power of repurposing products of destruction into the structures of tomorrow.

Our mixtape of tunes include: a Swedish dance-pop tribute to Marie Curie’s research on radioactivity, Jane Birkin’s ode to the work and ideals of Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, an emotional love song dedicated to Georgia O’Keefe and a tongue-in-cheek punk rock commentary on Margaret Thatcher.

One of Drew Berry’s incredible, scientifically-accurate animations of what’s happening in our cells.

Art so often seeks to capture the beauty of the natural world — from cave drawings of animals, to paintings of landscapes, to sculptures of the human form in marble, bronze or wood. But in this playlist, find artists and designers who take this to the next level, making art based on the laws of nature and the invisible workings of biology itself.

Tom Shannon, John Hockenberry: The painter and the pendulum
Tom Shannon: The painter and the pendulum
In this interview, John Hockenberry questions artist Tom Shannon about his metallic sculptures that levitate, and about how his scientific inspiration has evolved over time. Shannon says that his art starts with the need to solve a question — a process similar to scientific exploration. In the privacy of Shannon’s studio, we see work that challenges the idea that objects can’t defy gravity, as well as a sculpture that simply exemplifies the complex relationship between earth and sun. But perhaps his most inventive meditation on biological occurrences is Shannon’s painting pendulum. Says Shannon, “As humans, ultimately being part of the universe, we’re kind of the spokespeople or the observer part of the constituency of the universe. And to interface with it, with a device that lets these forces that are everywhere act and show what they can do, giving them pigment and paint — just like an artist it’s a good ally.”

See also: Just as Shannon found an unusual way to paint, Phil Hansen is an artist who had to find new methods when he developed permanent nerve damage in his forearm. After a pivotal “embrace the shake” revelation, Phil began creating art focused on transforming limitations from frustration into inspiration. Watch his powerful talk »

Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology
Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology
Ever wondered what a molecule looks like? Well, your naked eye won’t help answer that question. “Molecules are smaller than the wavelength of light, so we have no way to directly observe them,” says biomedical animator Drew Berry, who was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010. By immersing himself in the world of cutting edge scientific research, Berry has made molecular and cellular biology accessible for the masses. In this talk from TEDxSydney, he uses intricately rendered animations to traverse the DNA highway into the depths of cells. This ambitious blend of art and science is matched by his determination to educate the public, in a beautifully engaging way, about important scientific discoveries.

See also: Speaking of unseeable biology, artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects DNA “evidence” — found on cigarette butts and strands of hair — and uses it to create a sculpture of what a person may look like. Her project took off from one basic question: How much can be learned about a person from a stray hair? Watch this TED original about Dewey-Hagborg’s work »

Doris Kim Sung: Metal that breathes
Doris Kim Sung: Metal that breathes
Before houses had air conditioning, they used tiny windows and thick walls to combat extreme weather and regulate temperature. Before cars had air conditioning, they overheated and thus signaled to us the overuse of energy. Fast forward to today, where impossibly cold stores have become the norm. How do we make our buildings work better? At TEDxUSC, biology student turned architect Doris Kim Sung shares how she studied the human body to learn how skin regulates body temperature and, from that research, developed the smart material known as “thermo-bimetals.” She reveals how panels of this material can be used to create responsive ‘building skins’ that help our buildings breathe beautifully and efficiently.

See also: It seems like a big jump from studying the body to producing architectural innovations, but great minds think alike. Members of the Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab have also developed a building based on skin, called Silk Pavilion. Using a robot to build the external framework, 6,500 silkworms then got to work enmeshing the exterior in their lovely, naturally-occurring materials. Read more at Fast Company »

Margaret Wertheim: The beautiful math of coral
Margaret Wertheim: The beautiful math of coral
In 2005, Margaret Wertheim and her sister, Christine, asked the internet and art institutions alike to join an interdisciplinary project that combined math, marine biology, environmental activism and feminine handicraft. With thousands helping, they set out to crochet the largest coral reef in the world to raise awareness of the impact global warming has on this massive, living ecosystem. In this talk from TED2009, Wertheim explains that the mathematical study of hyperbolic structures (aka, things frilly and curly) discovered in the 19th century couldn’t be depicted until Dr. Daina Taimina began to knit in 1997 and eventually crocheted a coral reef. Wertheim suggests that tangible understanding is equally as important as theory. “What we want to propose, is that the highest levels of abstraction, things like mathematics, computing, logic, etc. — all of this can be engaged with, not just through purely cerebral algebraic symbolic methods, but by literally, physically playing with ideas,” says Wertheim.

See also: Photographer Barry Rosenthal is another artist transforming traditional methods of portraying biological species. Instead of recreating botanical drawings of flora and fauna from real flowers, Rosenthal uses trash found in the streets of Brooklyn and New Jersey to create taxonomies of our littered sidewalks and gardens. Though these photographs may seem like collections of junk, the subtle environmental message is also quite alarming. See more at his website »

JoAnn Kuchera-Morin: Stunning data visualization in the AlloSphere
JoAnn Kuchera-Morin: Stunning data visualization in the allosphere
If you can imagine being inside a computer that looks like an omnitheater, you can partially imagine the mysterious, three-story metal arena known as the Allosphere. This echo-free chamber, connected to a very large computer, was created as an interdisciplinary center for artists, scientists and engineers to work together. While scientists explore complex algorithms and test new hypotheses, engineers build computers large enough to dynamically store data and artists create visuals and sounds to help holistically understand such sensitive information. Watch this demo from TED2009, as JoAnn Kuchera-Morin takes you through five research projects going on at the Allosphere — including quantifying beauty through monitoring the brain and working with quantum mathematicians to visualize and hear quantum information flow.

See also: Tomas Saraceno — an Argentinian artist — has created ‘In Orbit,’ an installation that rises about 65 feet above a piazza in Germany. It allows patrons to look, climb and feel like they’re floating in space, walking along a spider web or traversing the inside of a soap bubble. Read more at Design Boom »

Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body?
Lucy McRae: How technology can transform the human body
Lucy McRae is a self-proclaimed ‘body architect.’ How does one get that title? She has a background in ballet, architecture and fashion, with an added interest in transforming the human body. While working for Philips Electronics, McRae worked on projects that resembled sci-fi realities, but working on prototypes wasn’t enough. She began to ask questions about communication and sexual attraction — like “Would it be possible to create swallowable pills that allow you to perspire perfume to attract partners?” Watch this talk from TED2012 to see her provocative, visionary work exploring the limitless future of biology and technology.

See also: Speaking of perspiring perfume, another hybrid team of designers and scientists is exploring synthetic biology to detect toxins and bacteria using colored biomarkers. The EChromi team is engineering bacteria to secrete colors that indicate whether the water is safe or if the food is good to eat, and this work won them the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM). Read more at their website »